In an unremarkable repository, a lobster was born.
Pick one and send it to school; or write your own undefined lobster.
Its dreams have been big from day one.
Hello Claw: adopt your AI lobster assistant, learn Skills in Lobster University, and build your own intelligent agent from scratch
📌 Read Online | 🚀 Want to Learn Vibe Coding Too?
https://datawhalechina.github.io/hello-claw
This project is a complete learning guide for OpenClaw, designed to help you master this powerful command-line AI assistant system from zero. Whether you want to use OpenClaw quickly to boost your productivity or deeply understand how it works and build your own version, this tutorial gives you a clear path forward.
This project contains three core modules:
- Adopt Claw (User Guide): 11 chapters plus 7 appendices, covering installation (Ch. 1-3), core configuration (Ch. 4-6), operations and extensions (Ch. 7-9), and security plus client interfaces (Ch. 10-11)
- Lobster University (Practical Scenarios): hands-on case studies centered on Skills selection and reusable workflow patterns
- Build Claw (Developer Guide): 11 chapters that first break down OpenClaw source code and alternatives, then move into Skills, channels, and full customization
Who is this for:
- Beginners: want an always-available AI assistant without needing prior programming experience
- Productivity enthusiasts: want to control AI remotely through QQ, Feishu, or Telegram
- Technical explorers: are curious about OpenClaw's skill system and automation capabilities
- Developers: want to understand agent architecture deeply and build their own version
Suggested learning paths:
- Beginners: start with Part 1 "Adopt Claw" and get installation plus basic automation working first
- If you want scenario-driven outcomes fast: jump into "Lobster University" and pick 5-10 Skills by use case
- Developers: go to "Build Claw" to study the underlying implementation and customize your own Claw
- [2026-03-25] ✅ Lobster University completed a round of scenario expansion and beginner-friendly rewrite, adding 11 ready-to-use case studies across personal productivity, programming, content creation, business sales, multi-agent collaboration, and more, organized by README category
- [2026-03-25] 🔥 OpenClaw v2026.3.24: Gateway OpenAI-compatible endpoints (
/v1/models,/v1/embeddings), Microsoft Teams official SDK integration (streaming replies / welcome cards / message edit and delete), one-click Skills installation recipes and Control UI status filtering, Slack rich reply restoration, CLI--containerfor in-container execution, Discord LLM auto thread naming,before_dispatchplugin hook, sandbox media security fix — all tutorial chapters synced - [2026-03-23] 🔥 OpenClaw 3.22 major release: Plugin SDK refactor (old
extension-apideprecated), security hardening (SMB credential leak / env var injection / Unicode spoofing fixes), GPT-5.4 as new default, Feishu interactive cards / Telegram topic auto-naming, Agent timeout extended to 48h - [2026-03-12] ✅ Completed Build Claw Ch. 1-10: core architecture analysis (prompt system, tool system, message loop, multi-channel integration), alternative solution exploration (lightweight, hardened security, hardware), and a summit-view retrospective
- [2026-03-10] ✅ Completed Build Claw Ch. 13: Skill file structure, frontmatter, async handling, and debugging
- [2026-03-10] ✅ Added Lobster University: a menu-style Skills elective guide to give your lobster "combat add-ons"
- [2026-03-08] ✅ Completed Adopt Claw Ch. 1-11: installation (AutoClaw + manual install + onboarding wizard), core configuration (chat platforms, models, agents), operations and extensions (tools and scheduled tasks, gateway, remote access), and security plus clients (security protection, web interface)
- [2026-03-04] 🦞 Project launched with two planned core modules: "Adopt Claw" and "Build Claw"
| Chapter | Description | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Opening Notes | What OpenClaw is, the four-step adoption method, and the learning roadmap | ✅ |
| 🔵 Installation | ||
| Ch. 1 One-Click AutoClaw Installation | Download the AutoClaw desktop client and get a zero-barrier experience in 5 minutes | ✅ |
| Ch. 2 Manual OpenClaw Installation | Terminal basics, Node.js installation, npm install, and the onboarding wizard |
✅ |
| Ch. 3 Initial Configuration Wizard | CLI wizard, macOS guidance, custom providers, and reconfiguration | ✅ |
| 🟢 Core Configuration | ||
| Ch. 4 Chat Platform Integration | Platform overview, full Feishu integration example, pairing, and group chats | ✅ |
| Ch. 5 Model Management | Model concepts, CLI management, multi-provider setup, API key rotation, and failover | ✅ |
| Ch. 6 Agent Management | Multi-agent management, workspaces, heartbeat, and binding rules | ✅ |
| 🟡 Operations and Extensions | ||
| Ch. 7 Tools and Scheduled Tasks | Toolset levels, scheduled tasks (cron / at / every), and web search |
✅ |
| Ch. 8 Gateway Operations | Startup management, hot reload, authentication security, key management, sandbox policy, and log monitoring | ✅ |
| Ch. 9 Remote Access and Networking | SSH tunnels, Tailscale networking, deployment architecture, and security best practices | ✅ |
| 🔴 Security and Clients | ||
| Ch. 10 Security Protection and Threat Model | Threat landscape, VM isolation, trust boundaries, MITRE ATLAS, and supply-chain security | ✅ |
| Ch. 11 Web Interface and Clients | Dashboard, WebChat, Control UI, TUI, and third-party clients | ✅ |
| Appendices | ||
| Appendix A: Learning Resources | 8 categories of resources, 80+ links, carefully curated by the editors | ✅ |
| Appendix B: Community Voices and Ecosystem Outlook | Deep discussion of 6 major topics plus highlighted quotes | ✅ |
| Appendix C: Claw-Like Solution Comparison and Selection | 5 major categories: desktop clients, hosted services, cloud vendors, self-hosted open source, and mobile | ✅ |
| Appendix D: Skill Development and Publishing Guide | SKILL.md format, skill-creator, and the ClawHub publishing workflow |
✅ |
| Appendix E: Model Provider Selection Guide | System comparison across aggregators, mainland China, international, and local providers | ✅ |
| Appendix F: Command Quick Reference | Reference for all CLI commands covering installation, configuration, logs, cron, channels, and more | ✅ |
| Appendix G: Configuration File Deep Dive | Detailed explanation of every field in openclaw.json |
✅ |
| Chapter | Description | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Opening Notes | Why build your Claw from scratch, the OpenClaw complexity challenge, and the learning roadmap | ✅ |
| 🔵 OpenClaw Internal Breakdown (Ch. 1-7) | ||
| Ch. 1 Architecture Design Philosophy | The evolution of AI agent architecture and OpenClaw's six architectural innovations | ✅ |
| Ch. 2 ReAct Loop | The agent's "think-act" engine and execution loop | ✅ |
| Ch. 3 Prompt System | Prompt architecture, hot reload mechanism, and persistent persona design | ✅ |
| Ch. 4 Tool System | A deep dive into the four primitive tools, registration, and composition capabilities | ✅ |
| Ch. 5 Message Loop and Event-Driven Design | Swimlane model, heartbeat mechanism, concurrency safety, and time initiative | ✅ |
| Ch. 6 Unified Gateway | Gateway architecture, multi-channel integration, and message normalization | ✅ |
| Ch. 7 Security Sandbox | Balancing freedom and constraints, execution isolation, and permission control | ✅ |
| 🟢 Custom Solution Paths (Ch. 8-10) | ||
| Ch. 8 Lightweight Solutions | Community variants such as NanoClaw, Nanobot, and ZeroClaw | ✅ |
| Ch. 9 Security Hardening Solutions | IronClaw security architecture, sandbox isolation, and audit logs | ✅ |
| Ch. 10 Hardware Solutions | PicoClaw hardware selection and low-power embedded deployment | ✅ |
| 🟡 Level 3: Customize Your Claw (Ch. 13) | ||
| Ch. 13 Skill Authoring | Skill file structure, frontmatter, async handling, and debugging | ✅ |
🎉 We'd love case-study contributions!
If you have a unique OpenClaw scenario or practical experience to share, you are very welcome to contribute in any of these ways:
- Submit a PR to add your case study to this section
- Open an Issue describing your scenario
- Join the community discussion and exchange ideas with other developers
Every contribution helps more people discover what OpenClaw can do.
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Zixuan Gui | Core Contributor |
| Zhimin Zhao | Core Contributor |
| Xiuqi Li | Core Contributor |
| Lixin Liu | Core Contributor |
| Siyi Liu | Core Contributor |
| Sanbu | Core Contributor |
More contributors are welcome
- If you find an issue, feel free to open an Issue. If you do not receive a response, you can contact the support team for follow-up.
- If you would like to contribute, feel free to submit a Pull Request. If you do not receive a response, you can contact the support team for follow-up.
- If you are interested in Datawhale and want to start a new project, please follow the Datawhale Open Source Project Guide.
Scan the QR code below to follow the Datawhale official account on WeChat
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License .